The Wealth of a Nation

InsightSur.com ^ | April 2, 2012 | InsightSur Editor

[InsightSur]

At the end of the 19th century, Argentina’s economy transformed from a backwater, to a growth engine rivaling the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of growth, and GDP per capita.

At it’s height, the country’s income per capita was comparable to that of France, Germany, and Canada, and reached 80% of the per capita income seen in the United States from 1880 to 1905. Yet today, the country is a frustrating example of the bad economic policy. There is a general sense of indignation from a country that was one of the wealthiest in the world a century ago. Indignation over a lack of responsibility, indignation over stagnation which has left the country in economic slumber for the past few decades, and frustration in a nation which collectively believes in its own potential yet faces a reality of crushing mediocrity.

Argentina’s economy was driven by the energy of entrepreneurial spirit at the turn of the century. Exports of livestock and other goods translated to a trade surplus, and the country’s GDP and PPP increased to levels since unseen in Latin America.

For approximately 40 years, Argentina was a powerhouse. It was the envy of the region, and rivaled the best of the world.

Behind this engine, was a foundation laid in place by Argentinian founding father Juan Bautista Alberdi...

(Excerpt) Read more at InsightSur.com ...

[InsightSur]

"So that the record of history is absolutely crystal clear. That there is no alternative way, so far discovered, of improving the lot of the ordinary people that can hold a candle to the productive activities that are unleashed by a free enterprise system." - Milton Friedman

[BitWielder1]

There is no better social program than people working real paying jobs and keeping the fruits of their own labor.

[InsightSur]

“There is no better social program than people working real paying jobs and keeping the fruits of their own labor.”

Isn’t it ironic then, that authoritarian ideologists (such as the current Cristina Fernández de Kirchner) get reelected based on their rhetoric regarding social programs and “the working people,” and yet the results are contradictory?

[BitWielder1]

Isn't it ironic then...

Ironic and very sad.
Whenever you "redistribute" wealth, everybody loses.
Taxes and handouts are both demoralizing, and we all get cheated on work that could have been performed.
What appalls me is the hubris at the top, big government advocates who believe that a handful of ideologues and bureaucrats in a central location can run everything better than millions of highly motivated entrepreneurs.